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Should I be here, I don't think I'm an audiophile

carewser

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An audiophile is someone who would recoil at the thought of using regular cables and interconnects rather than thick expensive audiophile cables and interconnects as they swear there's an enormous sonic difference and can always identify tiny nuanced details in the sound that no one else hears or even cares about. If that's not you then you're in the wrong place. An audiophile should have a collection of fine wines, cigars, bathrobes, slippers and cardigans with which to adorn himself before indulging his luxurious hobby. If you drink beer, have ever worn a "wife beater", listen to rock, hip hop, country or rap "music", drive a pickup truck or own a long gun other than for hunting pheasant, you too are in the wrong place

Seriously, an audiophile is just someone who is almost as passionate about sound as they are music because most people don't really care about sound quality but it matters to us
 

carewser

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For me being an audiophile meant mostly one thing; recreational spending

I'm now a recovering audiophile. I no longer have any desire to buy new gear. What I already have is good enough.
I'm the same, I have little desire to buy more gear and the final piece of the puzzle was an old, used paradigm subwoofer that I paid $240 for (originally $1350) that made the final piece of the puzzle come together by providing extraordinary bottom end so my system can both play full range and at extreme volume. I think it sounds wonderful
 

JoetheLion

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What I already have is good enough.
We all know the high end has diminishing returns. Most audiophiles have reached a stage where "more" no longer brings enjoyment. This distinguishes audiophiles from high end esoterics and therefore they are happier in the long run. But there are basic innovations. Dirac Live, for example. With it, a system sounds better than a much more expensive one without it. Audiophiles have to go along with that.
 
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Yorkshire Mouth

Yorkshire Mouth

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yes because most people don't really care about sound quality.

Is that really true?

If I paid £500 on a hi-fi for my lounge, and it sounded like a transistor radio, SWMBO would notice. But she wouldn’t say be happy with that sound, get a refund any buy a cheap radio, she’d be expecting something better.
 

Frgirard

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audiophilia is an act of passion based on mythomania to believe that Sister Gaga sing before you in your battle field called living room.
One day audiophilia will be registered with the DSM.
 

Frgirard

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We all know the high end has diminishing returns. Most audiophiles have reached a stage where "more" no longer brings enjoyment. This distinguishes audiophiles from high end esoterics and therefore they are happier in the long run. But there are basic innovations. Dirac Live, for example. With it, a system sounds better than a much more expensive one without it. Audiophiles have to go along with that.
Dirac Live or Trinnov... may be the new audiophile era. It's new, It's changes, It's better : The audiophile triptych.
A music lover will said It's new, it's changes, it's different.
 

Roland68

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Unfortunately, most people are completely unaware of the meaning of the word audiophile.
As a result, the term used to denote an individual or a group has become a dirty word in many places.

Unfortunately, I can understand that from my personal experience.
How often have I discussed the sound and playback of a device, system, voice, instrument, etc. with other (audiophiles?) Until I realized that you had never heard them live before.
If someone doesn't even know how a voices, violin, piano, or other instruments sound in reality, what can they say about the sound of their equipment or system?
In another life (over 20 years ago) I took part in audio workshops myself and gave them too. I was always amazed how few of the participants went to concerts or live music regularly or at all. That's why I decided back then to spend time at concerts rather than audio workshops.

"Sound fidelity is the ability of an ideal electro-acoustic transmission system to reproduce the recorded sound image in such a way that there is no audible difference between the original and the reproduction through loudspeakers. A corresponding music production is called audiophile."
 
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Yorkshire Mouth

Yorkshire Mouth

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Unfortunately, most people are completely unaware of the meaning of the word audiophile.
As a result, the term used to denote an individual or a group has become a dirty word in many places.

Unfortunately, I can understand that from my personal experience.
How often have I discussed the sound and playback of a device, system, voice, instrument, etc. with other (audiophiles?) Until I realized that you had never heard them live before.
If someone doesn't even know how a voices, violin, piano, or other instruments sound in reality, what can they say about the sound of their equipment or system?
In another life (over 20 years ago) I took part in audio workshops myself and gave them too. I was always amazed how few of the participants went to concerts or live music regularly or at all. That's why I decided back then to spend time at concerts rather than audio workshops.

"Sound fidelity is the ability of an ideal electro-acoustic transmission system to reproduce the recorded sound image in such a way that there is no audible difference between the original and the reproduction through loudspeakers. A corresponding music production is called audiophile."

That’s good, but I think it’s important to add in that some recording deliberately don’t sound like the instrument does live.
 

Roland68

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That’s good, but I think it’s important to add in that some recording deliberately don’t sound like the instrument does live.
May I ask what you mean exactly?
I used to work with many musicians from the fields of classical, jazz, pop, rock, Irish folk and so on. Both studio and concert recordings were always about recording voices and instruments as authentically as possible. I don't know anything else from the sound engineers and producers of that time.
Of course there are also many recordings where a lot of manipulation was done, for whatever reasons. But which of these productions make it into an audiophile collection?
In addition, there are a lot of simply very bad shots.
Recordings that have been intentionally changed by musicians have to be left out; that falls under artistic freedom.
 

rdenney

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May I ask what you mean exactly?
I used to work with many musicians from the fields of classical, jazz, pop, rock, Irish folk and so on. Both studio and concert recordings were always about recording voices and instruments as authentically as possible. I don't know anything else from the sound engineers and producers of that time.
Of course there are also many recordings where a lot of manipulation was done, for whatever reasons. But which of these productions make it into an audiophile collection?
In addition, there are a lot of simply very bad shots.
Recordings that have been intentionally changed by musicians have to be left out; that falls under artistic freedom.
As soon as you add amplification as an aspect of live sound, everything changes. And then there are those that use processing as a feature of their sound.

But that’s creation, not playback—an all-important distinction.

Rick “a feature, not a bug” Denney
 
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Yorkshire Mouth

Yorkshire Mouth

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May I ask what you mean exactly?
I used to work with many musicians from the fields of classical, jazz, pop, rock, Irish folk and so on. Both studio and concert recordings were always about recording voices and instruments as authentically as possible. I don't know anything else from the sound engineers and producers of that time.
Of course there are also many recordings where a lot of manipulation was done, for whatever reasons. But which of these productions make it into an audiophile collection?
In addition, there are a lot of simply very bad shots.
Recordings that have been intentionally changed by musicians have to be left out; that falls under artistic freedom.

I’m scratching my head, it didn’t cross my mind for a second that I’d have to give examples of that.

Shall we start with almost all The Beatles’ output post-Rubber Soul?

Would you like examples of individual tracks?
 

Robin L

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I’m scratching my head, it didn’t cross my mind for a second that I’d have to give examples of that.

Shall we start with almost all The Beatles’ output post-Rubber Soul?

Would you like examples of individual tracks?
Or perhaps Les Paul & Mary Ford?
 

dkinric

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For me, I enjoy listening to music because it makes me feel emotions. I am also interested in gadgets and technology, especially audio equipment. The more realistic and impactful that music reproduction is, the more powerful the music emotions can be. Wanting the music and the equipment to work together to maximize the experience - that's an Audiophile to me.

I hate that an Audiophile has a connotation of a stuck up old man being persnickety about turntables and speaker wire and such, looking down on anyone with a lesser system. It shouldn't be like that. It's just a way to get the most out of the music you like.
 

Joe Smith

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These classifications don't mean much, really. I think I am basically an "A" because I care about the quality of music reproduction, the mechanics of how better sound is achieved, and a love of many forms of music and incorporation of same for a good part of each day. I am not an "A" in terms of high obsession about minute differences in quality of reproduction, or considering a equipment cost threshold to be considered legitimate.
 
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Yorkshire Mouth

Yorkshire Mouth

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Or perhaps Les Paul & Mary Ford?

Absolutely.

The point is, the job of hi-fi is to faithfully recreate what’s on the tape (or digital file).

The concept of an ‘audiophile recording’ is anathema to me.

If someone wants their recording to be an accurate and faithful reproduction of the sound before it hits the microphone, that’s fine.

If someone wants to process that sound in any way, that’s fine.

But an ‘audiophile’, if it means anything, is a faithful and accurate reproduction of the recording, whether processed or not.
 

Robin L

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Absolutely.

The point is, the job of hi-fi is to faithfully recreate what’s on the tape (or digital file).

The concept of an ‘audiophile recording’ is anathema to me.

If someone wants their recording to be an accurate and faithful reproduction of the sound before it hits the microphone, that’s fine.

If someone wants to process that sound in any way, that’s fine.

But an ‘audiophile’, if it means anything, is a faithful and accurate reproduction of the recording, whether processed or not.
Basically, once the sound hits the diaphragm of the microphone, you can throw "The Absolute Sound" out the window. However, an accurate depiction of the microphone mix is a doable thing.
 
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